Thursday, January 3, 2013
Small Group Collaboration
PE, Music, Special Ed, EAs, Math teachers, and others had the opportunity to work together yesterday for several hours. The idea was that like-minded teachers will get more done in smaller groups discussing relevant things than being placed in a large group setting with information that doesn't directly pertain to their work. Having so many different breakout groups on campus days is a new thing and came about because of the feedback we received from you after last year's staff development days. Please share your thoughts about yesterday's sessions, what went well, and what you might like to see in the future.
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5 comments:
Collaboration is very effective at cutting through failed attempts and getting to things that work. People are not eager to tell you what did not work as much as they are excited to let you know what did work. If people unselfishly give things that work to their peers, think of it as a gift, expect nothing in return then collaborators are more likely to share with others as well. A collective knowledge is more encompassing and creative than a single knowledge. I like that one person does not do all the talking. If you find you are talking too much, question others and solicit information and opinions from them.
It seems every time we have a day of collaboration I get new ideas or learn to look at something I knew in a different way.
As a teacher I really enjoyed having my morning available to plan with a teammate. I really liked the way everything was separated to apply to different content areas and grade levels.
Even though I have attended many of Norma Jackson's workshops, I always come away with at least one new idea I can apply in my classroom.
I also like getting every grade level on board with writing. If every grade level is doing their part, it makes it so much easier for the 4th grade teacher.
Having a dedicated amount of time to collaborate with my teammates will always be better than sitting in a big room, listening to information I may or may not use, all the while wishing I could be back working just with my teammates! Seriously, once Rachel and I figured out which session to attend, we used the remainder of our collaboration time very productively. Having accomplished real work made the afternoon session with Norma Jackson even better. Thank you! More of the same would be fabulous in the future.
Really enjoyed the presentation from Brady and Katy on things that pertain to my population of kids. I especially liked reviewing the characteristics of specific disabilities and realizing how so many of them bleed together. Even our breaks were productive. Just those few minutes of problem solving for our own special population was very productive. Thanks!! Hope we do more of this :)
It is sometimes difficult for special education teachers to collaborate because of the diversity of our students. Hopefully this presentation was generic enough so that everyone was able to take away something. I think that is the key for such a diverse group.
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